


Under the Sea

by Robron101



Series: Domestic One-Shots [3]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Husbands, M/M, Soon to be Fathers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, my attempt at humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:17:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6906841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robron101/pseuds/Robron101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron paints the nursery while Robert has doubts about his parenting skills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Just something cute and sweet to make you guys smile!  
> I guess I should explain what I didn't explain in this fic. Robert and Aaron are adopting, and the woman is still pregnant and they're very active in the pregnancy.

“Are you sure we went with the right theme?” Robert asked. Aaron growled lowly as he put the finishing touches on the last rainbow colored fish he was painting on the wall. “I mean Under the Sea isn’t your typical baby theme.” They had debated over and over for weeks about how to paint the nursery, and after sleepless nights - mainly on Robert’s part - did they finally agree on Under the Sea. The walls were now a blue green - the color of the Caribbean waters. They’d - well mostly Aaron after Robert had fucked up and grabbed the wrong stencil and accidentally stenciled on a clown's face instead of a dolphin. Aaron still didn’t know he’d fucked that up. Anyway they’d stenciled on colorful fishes using metallic spray paints, and dolphins, starfishes, bright pink and purple corals, and then Aaron’s favorite piece was the mermaid he’d hand painted. She had long blonde wavy hair, bright blue eyes, and her tail was done in the metallic paints so it shimmered when you moved around the room. He’d painted her on a rock, sunbathing, and dipping the fin of her tail in the water as dolphins popped their heads out of the water to watch her. He was amazed at his own artistry, and just how well it turned out. “Maybe we should have gone with Winnie the Pooh.” 

“I swear to God, Rob,” Aaron snapped and turned to face Robert - pointing his purple coated paint brush as him in a threatening manner. “If you bring up Winnie the Pooh one more time I’m going to smack you across the face with this brush!” Robert stared at the paint brush and took a step back. 

“Alright,” he said and held his hands up. “I just thought that maybe the fishes might scare her.” 

“What is scary about this?” He turned and held his arms wide at the wall. The colors were bright and friendly, and it made the room look like a magical underwater land. “She’s going to love it.” 

Aaron turned and caught Robert biting his lip in worry. “Rob,” Aaron walked over and pulled his bottom lip from his teeth before he broke the skin again like he did last week when they were trying to pick out a crib. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“I know,” he sighed. He wanted to lean into Aaron, let his husband wrap his arms around him and make him feel safe, but Aaron was covered in paint and Robert was wearing his favorite blue jumper. “I just want everything to be perfect for her.” 

“It will be,” Aaron made sure the paint on his hands was dry before the touched Robert’s cheeks. “It’s just a room. I’m sure by the time she’s ten she’ll be begging us to change it for her.” Robert leaned into his touch, his fears not quailed. It wasn’t the room he was fearing, but his parenting skills. 

“What if we're not perfect for her?” He whispered. That fear had been keeping him up at night. He’d lay in bed next to Aaron while he slept, and he’d go over all the ways he could possibly screw up his kid the way his dad had done with him. 

“Robert,” Aaron smiled fondly at his husband. It was so like him to panic about something like that. “You’re gonna make a great dad,” Aaron promised him. “You think I’d be having a baby with you if I didn’t think so?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yes,” Aaron made sure not to touch him with his clothes, stood on his tip toes, and gave him a kiss. “She’s going to adore you.” 

“Iris,” he whispered. 

“Iris,” Aaron smiled at the name they’d picked out for her. “Iris Dingle.” 

“Oh no, we agreed on Sugden.” 

“I don’t remember that,” Aaron said. “Oh you mean when you were throwing the fit. Love, I was just indulging you.” 

“You’ve got to be joking? You really want our only daughter to be known as a Dingle?” Aaron pushed him away. He glared at him in fake anger, just like he knew Robert’s jibe was also fake. 

“It’s better than Sugden. At least as a Dingle she’ll have a family to always stick up for her. Unlike yours would.” 

“I’ll have you know that my family would protect her just as much as yours would, and they wouldn’t do it through kidnapping, brute force, or blackmail.” 

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t want our daughter to have the best protection possible. Fine. Iris Sugden, pregnant at sixteen because the Sugden’s didn’t scare off her older boyfriend who pressured her for sex.” 

Robert was quiet for a moment before mumbling, “Iris Dingle.” 

“That’s what I thought,” Aaron tapped his cheek lightly. “Same reason I kept my last name when I married you.” 

“That still hurts you know,” Robert said as Aaron walked away to drop the paint brush back in the bucket filled with purple paint. “Aaron Sugden sounded better,” he sniffed. 

“I always liked Robert Dingle but you had to be such a baby about it,” Aaron was gathering the up the used brushes, stencils, and the one miniature paint roller he’d used. “It’s never too late to change it.” 

“Don’t hold your breath Mr. Dingle,” Robert said. “I came into this world a Sugden and I’ll go out one.” 

“And you want to take me with you? So selfish,” he gave him a wicked smile. “You really think I want people reading that on my headstone?” 

“Sight sore better than Aaron Dingle.” 

“No one's going to be cringing at my name, but what’s written underneath it. Loving Husband of Robert Sugden.” 

“Go fuck yourself,” Robert snapped causing Aaron to laugh. He walked out of the room laughing, all the way to the kitchen where he dropped the paint supplies into the sink, and turned on the warm water to wash over them. 

“Iris Sugden,” Aaron said and watched as Robert’s face lit up. “Sounds about right.” 

“Yeah?” Robert’s face hurt from the huge smile he was wearing. He cleared his throat and let his smile fall and pointed a finger at Aaron. “Only seems fair seeing as my own husband wouldn’t take my last name.” 

“Hmm,” Aaron hummed as washed the paint stuff. The greens, purples, and pinks, mixing together to make the water a muddy brown color as it went down the drain. “You know I’m conceding on letting our daughter having your last name, maybe you should think about not being arse about that anymore.” 

“I will be an arse till the day I die,” he paused while he worked out what he just said, while Aaron laughed heartily into the sink. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant I’ll be an arse - you know what just shut the fuck up!” He snapped and walked away, leaving Aaron in the kitchen - his sides hurting from laughing. 

***

“Are you gonna come eat?” Aaron asked from the doorway of the nursery. Robert was standing there, staring at the underwater mural. “I got take away from the Chinese place you like so much.” 

“Do you think we’re gonna do right by her?” Robert reached out and ran his hand over one of the metallic fish. “Think she’ll love us.” Robert had hated his father, and Aaron had definitely hated his. He didn’t want his daughter to hate either of them. 

“How could she not?” Aaron walked into the room and wrapped his arms around Robert from behind. It never worked well because of the height difference, and he had to stand on his tiptoes to rest his chin on his shoulder. “How could she not love you?” 

“I think you’re a little biased,” Robert joked. 

“Maybe a little,” he kissed his cheek. “We’ll do right by her. We’ll learn from our parents fuck ups and fix them. We’ll make our own fuck ups, and she’ll learn from them when it’s time for her to have children. It’s the circle of parenting.” 

“I love you,” Robert said and turned in his arms so he was facing Aaron. “I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want to raise this baby with.” 

“Not even Chrissie?” 

“Five years, Aaron!” Robert yelled. “Let it go!” Aaron laughed and leaned up to kiss Robert, letting his lips linger against Robert’s. 

“I love you too,” Aaron whispered. “Even if you are a Sugden.”


End file.
